Service Leaders & speakers:
Barbara Thomborson, Karn Cleary
Today we’ll celebrate the Spring. The Equinox happens on September 23rd. marking a moment of balance before we transition into summer with longer daylight hours. This is an opportunity to consider what we want to leave behind in the darkness of winter, and how we will grow our hopes for the coming summer.
Video to come
Audio to come
Follow this shortcut to the bottom of the page for the various readings, videos, etc. shared in the service.
Read below, or download the PDF – To Come
Barbara Thomborson, Karn Cleary © 20 September 2026
How the Equinox is measured when the Earth is in Balance – Karn
This is going to be a very short talk, as I expect all of us know what the Equinox generally refers to, the day when we experience equal hours of daylight and dark.
This is a photo of Earth at the moment when the sun is directly above the Equator, and both the North and South poles are in sunlight.
This shows the Earth relative to the sun, and how the tilt of our axis affects hours of sunlight at different times of the year; so we have two Solstices when the sun is at the furthest point from the equator, and two equinoxes as she is directly over the equator. It’s that moment of balance that marks the astronomical Equinox, which is used to mark the official beginning of spring or autumn, this year on the 23rd of September at 1205 in Auckland.
We have however already experienced the two days in spring when daylight hours match nighttime – yesterday and today in Auckland, as we are south of the Equator. This happens because of the way our atmosphere affects how light from the sun reaches the earth. The Sun itself is a sphere and not a point light source, so its edge is refracted by our atmosphere as it rises and sets, which adds several minutes of light to every day. The Sun doesn’t neatly wink on and off at sunrise and sunset like a light bulb, and so there isn’t a perfect split of day and night on the equinox – but it’s very close.
The days have been getting noticeably longer and warmer for a few weeks, which will continue until we get to the summer solstice in December, a few days before Christmas. The Equinox is just a moment, but spring is a time of transition that stretches over months. We’ve had early spring flowers blooming since mid-winter, the Taiwanese cherry tree which feeds our neighbourhood tui was spectacular all though August, and now the plum trees are blossoming. The birds have been busy too, searching for suitable nesting spots. The tui uses our totara tree, and discourages all other birds from coming near. I’ve noticed a female blackbird trying various spots around our house, I’m hoping she found somewhere safer than the outside light in our front porch where we noticed an abandoned nest a couple of weeks ago. Soon we’ll be seeing different flowers, and fledgling birds as summer comes closer.
Equinox as a time of transition and growth – Barbara
Text To Come
by Josh Kiwikiwi
by Robyn Kahukiwa
from Guardian Maia video game
by Pamela Matthews
Unattributed, from Facebook
Meditation
Spring is a time of transition, as we come out of the cold, dark days of winter and begin to notice the changing light and warmer days. It’s a time of abundant growth and hope. Please take some time to consider what in your life you might be glad to leave behind with winter, and focus on what you hope for in the coming year……………………
Would now please write one or two words on the popsicle stick that was on your chair to express what you’re hoping to grow, & keep it with you till after the service.
After Frank plays the postlude, please come and take a pot from the table. Put your stick into the mix, take it home, water gently and plant it.
Links
Chalice Lighting:- “Chalice lighting for the Spring Equinox” by Yvonne Aburrow (they/them), an English Unitarian
Reading:- “The trees” by Philip Larkin in Complete Poems of Philip Larkin, Faber & Faber, London 2014
Reading:- “A little Madness in the Spring” by Emily Dickinson
Closing Words:- by Roland Morin from Rejoice together, Skinner House Books, Boston, 2006